The Parliamentary Ombudsman of the German Bundestag, Henning Otte, has praised the actions taken by the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, Carsten Breuer, concerning sexual misconduct within the armed forces. Speaking to the “Rheinische Post”, Otte noted that his office is registering an increase in reports and complaints regarding violations of sexual self-determination. He emphasized that this trend necessitates a consistent response from both the Ministry and the respective commands.
Recognizing this spike in issues, Otte previously warned the Federal Minister of Defence before the summer began that appropriate measures could not wait for the real numbers to be revealed by the “Dark Field Study,” which was initiated by his predecessor.
According to Otte, sexualized misconduct is fundamentally opposed to the core values of the internal leadership ethos of the military and must be consistently penalized. He stressed that every single case is unacceptable, and the rising numbers therefore serve as a mandate for military leadership to examine the situation more closely and act quickly and decisively. While Otte acknowledged that the Bundeswehr possesses clear rules and mechanisms for command supervision, he underlined the critical importance of these regulations being actively practiced and implemented in daily operations.
